Brewpub Garlic Fries Seasoning

1/2 cup glass jar (3.3 oz net wt)

1 oz bag

4 oz bag

1 lb bulk bag

SKU:100869 007

Price: $15.51

Quantity

5 lb bulk bag

SKU:100869 008

Price: $67.47

Quantity

25 lb bulk box

SKU:100869 010

Price: $153.16

Quantity

50 lb bulk box

SKU:100869 013

Price: $286.94

Quantity

Description

All over America, French fries can be found on restaurant menus, from small, whole in the wall burger joints to fast food chains and even the trendiest micro breweries. We love great food debates and fries certainly fit that bill on several fronts. There is no one perfect fry, as what makes a great fry is highly subjective. From texture preferences - crispy and crunchy or soft and soggy, to what is the best cut - crinkle, curly, shoestring, steak, or waffle. And then there are those who prefer their fries with some sort of sauce - with cheese and gravy being popular choices for this crowd.

History of Fries

But the controversy does not end there. In Europe, there has been a long feud between the Belgians and the French as to who created the original fry. Naturally, the Belgians claim that fries originated in their country, where along the River Meuse the villagers traditionally fried the fish they caught. During the coldest parts of winter, the river would freeze over, so the villagers would instead fry potatoes. Now, of course, the French tell a different story. After all, they are called French fries. During the 1780s street vendors on Paris’s Pont Neuf (the oldest standing bridge across the river Seine) first began selling these to the locals and visitors from other countries.

Yet another tale has fries actually being invented by the Spanish. After all, it was the Spanish conquistadors who brought the first potatoes back from South America. The first written mention of cooked potatoes dates back to a 1553 memoir that describes the Incas boiling their potatoes which gave them a flavor reminiscent of warm chestnuts. The Spanish cuisine at the time did a good deal of frying in oil, so it is quite possible that they fried the first potatoes although they would not resemble the fries that we know today.

Thomas Jefferson, some have taken to calling him America’s first foodie, is believed to have introduced the French fry to our country. He first tasted them when he was the American Minister in France during the late 1780s. Jefferson’s handwritten family cookbooks contained what would later become American favorites such as macaroni and cheese, vanilla ice cream and pommes de terre frites à cru en petites tranches (which translates to “potatoes deep-fried while raw, in small cuttings”). I am leaning towards letting one of the founding fathers have the last word on this debate.

The Story Behind Our Brewpub Garlic Fries Seasoning

Great French fries are not just fried potatoes. In one of my past lives I spent quite a bit of time working in a restaurant kitchen that prided itself on its fresh-cut fries. It was not long after I started there that I became intimately familiar with the arduous and painstaking attention to detail that was needed to create the prefect fresh, hand cut fry. Hours of cutting, rinsing, soaking, re-rinsing, frying and cooling, are required to achieve impeccable fries.

In my current life we have had the great opportunity to work with more than a few restaurants and some of our best restaurant customers have turned out to be micro brewers who also had a popular pub restaurant. We were first contacted by the chef at one of our favorite brewing companies several years ago. They had finally made the decision to ditch the frozen fries and go with fresh hand cut fries instead and he was looking a garlic fry seasoning to give their fries just the right character.

After meeting with him and getting a better idea of the flavor profile he was going for (and getting to sample one of their new wheat IPAs) we went to work coming up with a couple of sample blends for him to try out in the kitchen. Once it got the kitchen’s approval, they were ready to move on to testing these new fries with some of their customers. We had the winner. We have since made several custom fry seasonings for other brewpubs and grills across the country. But being the first one, this is still our favorite.

To Make Pub Style Fries at Home

Now, if you want to take on creating your own perfectly golden French fries at home you are going to have to do more than just cutting some spuds and dropping them into oil. The first step to getting soft on the inside and crispy on the outside fries is understanding starch. Potatoes have starch which prevents the outside of the fries from easily becoming nice and crisp. In order for the fries to be cooked on the inside you would need to leave them in the oil for too long which will burn the outside edges.

To create outstanding fries start by peeling your potatoes, then cut them into sticks. Once you have cut all of the potatoes, place them in a large colander and rinse them off. Next place them in a large pot, cover them with cold water and let them soak for at least two or three hours. In the restaurant we would often let them soak overnight.

After they are done soaking, drain the fries, rinse them off one more time in the colander and then lay them on a bunch of paper towels to dry them off. Blot the top of the potatoes with paper towels to remove all the excess moisture.

Now you are ready to do the first fry. Preheat your pot of oil to 300° F. Fry the potatoes for approximately 4-5 minutes. This is a first cook and you are not looking to brown them on the outside, just to soften them up on the inside. Test one at the 4 minute mark. If it cuts through easily they’re done. Drain them and place them on new, dry paper towels.

Once all of your fries have been pre-cooked and are drying, turn your pot up to 400°F. Once the oil has reached this temperature it is time to start the final cook. Fry them until they are golden and crisp. Remove from the pot and set them on a paper towel for a final dry. At this time we like to season the fries, as they are still piping hot and a little oily. This helps the seasoning really stick to the fries at this stage. Now you are ready to serve.

Flavor Profile

Salty with a smooth roasted garlic flavor with a hint of mild heat from the freshly ground white pepper.

What’s In It

Hand blended from roasted garlic, sea salt, onion and white pepper.

Helpful Hints

Not sure what potatoes are best for making fries? Restaurants tend to go for Russets, and they prefer those grown in Idaho if at all possible. What oil is best for deep frying your fries? We like to use peanut oil; as it has a high smoking point while the taste of the oil is mild enough not to overpower the fries. If you have a countertop deep fryer, that is great! But a heavy bottomed pan will work just as well.

Sometimes we make fries using sweet potatoes, we follow the cut, rinse and fry steps listed above.

We have also had great success using our Garlic Fries Seasoning on Popcorn.